Athanasius IV Jawhar
| Athanasius IV Jawhar | |
|---|---|
| Patriarch of Antioch | |
| Church | Melkite Greek Catholic Church |
| See | Patriarch of Antioch |
| Installed | 5 May 1788 |
| Term ended | 2 December 1794 |
| Predecessor | Theodosius V Dahan |
| Successor | Cyril VII Siaj |
| Orders | |
| Consecration | 31 July 1759 (Bishop) by Cyril VI Tanas |
| Personal details | |
| Birth name | Michael Jawhar |
| Born | 18 September 1733 Damascus |
| Died | 2 December 1794 (aged 61) |
Athanasius IV Ignace Michael Jawhar (or Jahouar or Jauhar or Giohar, 1733–1794) was Patriarch of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church from 1788 to 1794. He previously claimed to be patriarch from 1759 to 1764 and from 1765 to 1768.
Michael Jawhar was born in Damascus on 18 September 1733 and he was the great-nephew of patriarch Cyril VI Tanas. He entered in the Basilian Salvatorian Order taking the religious name Ignace. In 1759, Cyril VI Tanas, old and ill, decided to have Jawhar as successor, even if Jawhar was not jet ordained priest. Jawhar left his monastery without the permission of the superior and was ordained priest. Cyril VI Tanas summoned a synod of bishops on 30 July 1759 where he resigned and Jawhar succeeded being elected patriarch under the name of Athanasius. He was consecrated bishop the next 31 July by Cyril VI Tanas, who died a few months later, on 10 January 1760.
Although Jawhar's election was supported by the bishops of the Basilian Salvatorian Order (both Cyril VI and Jawhar were Salvatorians) who represented a minority in the Melkite population, the bishops of the Basilian Chouerite Order contested such election pointing out that Jawhar was not in the legal age to be appointed bishop. Rome, unaware that appointing a nephew was a common use in the Melkite Church before the union with Rome, not confirmed Jawhar's election and on 1 August 1760 appointed in his place the Chouerite Maximos Hakim as Patriarch.
The clashes for the patriarchate between anti-patriarch Jawhar against patriarch Maximos II Hakim (and later Theodosius V Dahan) from 1760 to 1768 were mainly due to the opposition between the two religious orders, the Basilian Salvadorians and the Basilian Chouerites and between the different communities from which they recruit members (the Salvatorians recruited mainly in the area of Damascus, while Chouerites recruited mainly in the area of Aleppo). Clashes with anti-patriarchs happened often in the pre-division Melkite Church: for example Cyril Dabbas was anti-patriarch from 1613 to 1628, Neophite of Chio was anti-patriarch from 1674 to 1684, Athanasius Dabbas from 1685 to 1694.
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